


My Sister, My Love

by idleflower



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood and Injury, Childhood, F/F, F/M, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 12:03:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2546792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idleflower/pseuds/idleflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Anna loved playing the game of Prince and Princess with her older sister, but...</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Sister, My Love

"Don't wanna be the princess," Anna sulked. "I want to be the prince. You always get to be the prince."

Elsa tugged on one of her little sister's red pigtails. "That's because I'm bigger."

Anna swatted at her hand. "Let go, let go! I'll tell!"

The older girl released her grip at once. "Sorry. Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you." But Anna turned away and did not answer.

On happy days, both sisters agreed that the 'balcony' was their favorite part of the new house. It was a curious location, a carpeted space between floors that was too large for a landing and too small for a proper room. The space had only one complete, unbroken wall. Across from it was a sturdy railing, through which the girls could peek down into the hallway below. On either side, three steps led up from the carpet to connect to other rooms of the house.

It was a dimple, an architectural mistake, and a marvelous place to play at fairy tales. As soon as she'd seen it, little Elsa burst out with "I could be a princess in a tower!", and that was enough to tip their parents' hand. The price of one house or another meant little when business was good; what mattered more was that their daughters were happy.

Except, of course, that at the moment Anna was very much not happy. She whirled back to face her sister. Her chubby cheeks were puffed up with indignation. "'S not fair! You're always gonna be bigger!"

At eleven years old, Elsa had a slightly better sense of logic and biology. "I won't grow forever. I have to stop sometime. You'll catch up. You might even be taller than me, when we're grownups."

"That's forever!"

"Well..." The blonde crouched down to be closer to the other's level. "You'll always, always be my baby sister. But you won't always be little. And I like it that you're little. It means I can pick you up and put you on my lap. I can't do that when you're big." 

Anna tugged at the hem of her green corduroy jumper. "Wha'f I want you to sit on my lap?"

Elsa poked at the ladybugs embroidered on her sister's dress. "I'd squish you. Like a bug. Guts everywhere -- gross!"

"What about when I'm bigger?"

"Then we'd be too old. Grown-ups don't sit on laps," Elsa said primly. Then, seeing that her sister was about to get upset again, she quickly sought another angle. "How about you be a princess and a witch? You can use your magic to help me fight the dragon."

Anna considered this, then nodded vigorously, the tiny tufts of her pigtails wiggling like antennae. "I want your wand," she demanded.

"Fine. Wait here."

Elsa hopped up the stairs to her bedroom, grateful that Anna had finally stopped being such a brat. Honestly, it was almost too much trouble to play with her sometimes! But most of the time, it was her sister or nothing. They didn't know any other children in the neighborhood, and while friendships were budding at their new school, none of those girls could come over very often. 

Still, that wasn't really a bad thing. Anna was adorable when she wasn't pouting (and sometimes even when she was, although Elsa knew better than to point that out). She was smart for her age, too, and rarely needed the rules of a game explained more than once. Most importantly, she was willing to go along with her big sister in almost anything. Even the time that Elsa had talked her into hiding under a tablecloth while their parents set up a big dinner party, and then bursting out into the middle of the crowd screaming about volcanoes. 

Anna was never boring. She was small, but full of energy. She was already ready for a game or a prank or an adventure. Exploring the world wouldn't be nearly as much fun on her own, Elsa knew. So even if the kid could be a brat sometimes, Elsa wouldn't trade her for the world.

Safe in the pearly pastel blue of her own bedroom, Elsa stood on a wooden step to see herself properly in the mirror over the dresser. Long blond hair was not appropriate for a prince, really. She pulled it back and secured it with a scrunchie, wishing she could manage the French braid. It always looked so pretty that way when her mother did her hair, but Elsa couldn't figure out any way to braid her own hair behind her head.

The 'wand' Anna wanted was actually nothing but a baton, a clear plastic length filled with water and glitter in five different shades of purple. It was lightweight and sturdy, designed for twirling, although Elsa had never quite gotten the hang of that. Depending on the game, it could serve as a wand, a staff, a barrier, or even a sword. Most importantly, it wouldn't break when dropped, not even if it somehow fell through the slats in the balcony. 

In the past, Anna had possessed a pink crystal heart wand, but it snapped in half in the middle of a game. Elsa's quick thinking had fended off tears by blaming the accident on an evil curse, and the two of them had buried the remains of the wand in the back garden. That had been at their last house, of course. She wondered how long it would take for someone to stumble across it.

But that didn't matter now. She had a princess to save!

\---

Perhaps she should have seen it coming, should have realised that her sister's irritation at being smaller and younger wouldn't fade so easily. But Elsa, older and wiser though she might be, was still a child. Her thoughts were focused on herself. It wasn't that she was intentionally selfish or cruel, any more than Anna was. It was simply that neither sister always remembered to consider what the other was thinking.

The dragon had been slain, his treasure of gold-foil coins strewn merrily across the 'cave'. Prince Elsa leapt dramatically over the dragon's invisible corpse to untangle the magic blanket-vines which entrapped Sparkly Witch Princess Anna. Victorious, she scooped the younger girl up into her arms as she giggled.

"You see?" Elsa teased. "This is why I'm the prince. Because I can pick you up! You're not strong enough."

Anna wrinkled her little nose and grinned back at her sister, and Elsa thought everything was right with the world. It didn't matter where they went, as long as she could be her sister's hero.

Afterwards, Elsa was on her knees gathering coins to put them back in their treasure chest, when she heard Anna moving behind her. "Careful, don't step on the chocolates," she warned.

"El-sa?" That singsong voice almost certainly meant trouble. "I can be the prince if I'm stronger, right?"

"When you're older," Elsa said, not entirely paying attention.

All of a sudden, there was a flash of pain across her scalp. Her cute, harmless little sister had grabbed hold of Elsa's ponytail and yanked. "I'm strong too!"

"Anna, let go of my hair."

Another pull, jerking Elsa's head uncomfortably backwards. "I can beat you!" 

"Stop it. That hurts."

"I'm strong!" **/WHAP/** A sudden hard blow stung Elsa's side. Anna had struck her with the baton.

"Anna, stop it!" Startled, confused, Elsa whipped an arm back behind herself, trying to drive the pain away. Her elbow impacted something, hard.

There was a loud thud.

And then, for a long moment, there was silence.

Elsa turned around. Anna was lying by the little steps that led up from the balcony. She twitched. She rolled over.

Her head was covered in blood.

Elsa began to scream.

\---

The next few hours passed in a daze. Elsa didn't entirely remember running through the house to drag her mother out of her office, or the frantic car ride to the hospital that followed. She sucked in huge, tremulous gasps of air, her head spinning too loudly to make sense of her mother's concerned words. 

Horrible thoughts tumbled through her head, one after the other.

_There's a hole in her head._

_She's going to die._

_It's all my fault._

_I killed her._

_What will I do without my sister?_

_What's going to happen to me?_

_I never meant to hurt her..._

When they arrived at the emergency room, their mother went ahead with Anna to be seen, while Elsa was told to sit very still in the waiting area and not go anywhere until her father got there.

Elsa had no inclination to wander. She felt sick to her stomach, but didn't want to bother anyone worrying about her while Anna was bleeding dying my fault being fixed. 

_Please, let them be able to fix her!_

Elsa sat in the hard plastic chair and stared down at her socks brushing the floor. She'd been in too much of a panic to find her shoes before leaving the house.

_I didn't mean to hurt her. I just wanted her to stop hitting me._

That was no excuse, was it? Anna was the baby. She was smaller, weaker. Even if she'd really been trying to hurt Elsa, she couldn't have managed it. The hair-pulling and baton-whacking was annoying, but it wouldn't even leave a bruise. 

Anna certainly couldn't have done the damage that Elsa had.

_I didn't mean to I didn't mean to please don't die_

It never occurred to Elsa to pray for her sister's survival. She was aware of religion as a principle, but she hadn't been raised in one. Her life certainly hadn't seemed any less blessed than the lives of her classmates who did pray; at least, not before now.

There was nowhere she could turn for comfort. Her mother was gone with Anna. Her father hadn't made it back from his business meeting. She didn't dare talk to the nurses. How could she explain the awful thing she'd done?

Cold and miserable, Elsa hunched over and quietly cried.

That was how her father found her, some time later. She came out of her daze to feel a warm hand on her shoulder. "Pumpkin? Are you all right? Haven't they looked at you yet?"

Elsa tried to protest that she wasn't hurt, but her words were too choked up, and all she could do was press her face into her father's shirt and sob.

Father - tall, strong, commanding Father - went up to the intake desk and demanded answers. The nurse reassured him that his daughter was fine. That both of his daughters were fine, and Anna would be out as soon as the monitoring period for her stitches was up.

_Stitches?_

_She's not dying?_

For the second time that day, the bottom fell out of Elsa's world. This time, it was all too much for one young girl's heart to take. With a moan, she collapsed.

\---

The next thing she knew, Elsa was lying on a cot in a curtained alcove. There was another, taller bed beside her. 

Remembering what she'd seen about medicine on TV, Elsa looked over her body quickly, but there were no needles or tubes in sight.

From beyond the curtains, she could hear her parents' voices.

"... never should have moved into that house! It was just a matter of time before there was an accident."

"Honey, kids have accidents wherever they are. I cracked my head falling off a bed when I was Anna's age."

"What if one of them had gone through the railing?"

"We had all the bars tested. They're sturdy. And both of our girls are far too smart to try climbing over it."

"I know. But... I don't like to think about what could have happened. I know you can't watch them every minute of the day, but maybe..."

"What? You want me to give up my work?"

"Of course not. We could hire someone. A nanny. Lots of families have them."

Elsa couldn't help groaning at that idea. A nanny? A stranger, to watch her and her sister every hour of the day? How would they ever manage to have fun like that?

But maybe they shouldn't be having fun. Maybe it would have been better if a nanny had stopped them from playing today. If it meant Anna would be safe, could Elsa swear never to fool around again?

"Psst! Hey! Elsa!"

She looked up. Anna's face was peering down at her from the bed.

_She's okay!_

Anna grinned. "I've got crabs in my head! Isn't that cool?"

"... What?"

'Okay' was an exaggeration. One side of Anna's forehead was pink and swollen and glistening with oil. A zig-zag line of dark stitching marked the wound that needed to be held shut. With all the blood out of the way, it was surprisingly small. 

"Well, that's what he said, I don't know," Anna continued. "Maybe they'll climb out."

"Did... Did I break your brain?" Elsa asked. 

"I dunno." She started to make a face, then stopped. "Ow. It hurts if I frown."

The voices outside had quieted. Their parents must have walked further away. Elsa gulped, remembering all the horrible things she'd imagined when she thought she might never talk to her sister again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I'll stay away from you from now on..."

"Whaaaa?" And now, all of a sudden, Anna looked like she might cry. "Don't go away!"

Elsa started to sniffle. "But you got hurt."

"You fell down! In the hospital! Daddy said so." Anna looked worried. "So you're hurt too."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh!"

That simple exchange made both of them smile a little.

"Elsa?" 

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I hit you. I was mad. It was dumb."

"Oh, Anna..." Elsa sighed. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

"I wanted you to be the princess sometimes," the younger girl continued. "Because you look pretty that way..."

Elsa gasped, the tears from earlier threatening to return. Was that it? Was the whole reason for this stupid accident the simple idea that her sister had meant to be nice to her? "You wanted that... for me?"

"And I want to fight the dragons," Anna concluded firmly. "I'm sick of being tied up!"

That sucked in breath escaped in a tiny laugh. "Oh, Anna... Even if you're too little to be a prince, you're you."

"Is that good?"

Elsa reached up to hold her sister's hand. "Yes."

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, /u/ read the blurb on the back of an old lesbian pulp novel which is too rare and collectible and expensive for anyone to actually have a copy. There was also some discussion that the original book's content might not live up to the lurid title, since there were a lot of restrictions on what you could publish those days, even in pulp. So this is the attempt to create a story that would actually fit that synopsis. If I manage to keep it going, it will get angstier as it goes along.


End file.
